Flower holding brooch



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FLOWER HOLDING snooca F'iled May 13, 1942 Qwuvwbom CONRAD I]. SCHMRZKOPI' Patented July 6, 1943 UNETEQ STATES PATENT @FFME FLOWER, HOLDING BROOCH Conrad E. Schwarzkopf,Ncw York, N. Y.

Application May 13, 194-2, Serial No. 442,814

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a brooch and it is one object of the invention to provide a brooch so constructed that it may be used as an ornamental brooch and also as a flower holder, the brooch including in its construction companion inner and outer members which are adapted to be separated so that flowers may be passed between the members and gripped thereby so that when a pin carried by the inner member is passed through a portion of a dress, coat or other garment, the flowers will be supported as a bunch and firmly held in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flower holding brooch so formed that its outer member normally lies in close contacting engagement with its inner member but may be sprung forwardly and outwardly away from the inner member for inserting a bunch of flowers when pressure is applied to its ends.

Another object of the invention is to so connect the two members that movement of the outer member relative to the inner member will be guided and limited and the outer member prevented from becoming detached from the inner member during such movement or when it is in its normal position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flower holding brooch which may be formed of sheet metal except for its pin, thus providing a device simple in construction, efiicient in operation and capable of being manufactured at small cost.

In'the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is front view of the flower holding brooch.

Fig. 2 is a view looking down on the brooch with end portions of the outer member in section.

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the brooch.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the outer or forward member sprung to bowed position for the insertion of flowers.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a modified form of brooch.

Fig. '7 is a top plan View of the modified form of brooch with one end portion in section, the bowed portion of the outer member being indicated by dotted lines.

This brooch is intended for use as ornamental jewelry and also as means for holding a bunch of flowers in position against a coat, dress, or similar garment. The inner or rear member I and the outer or front member 2 are formed of wide strips of sheet metal, the front member being resilient so that, while it normally is straight and in parallel contacting relation to the rear member, it may be sprung forwardly to bowed position by pressure applied to its ends and thus provide the space between the two members shown in Fig. 4, to receive a flower or a bunch of flowers to be gripped and firmly'held when the front member is released and attempts to return to its normal position, shown in Fig. 1. A pin 3 extends longitudinally of the rear member and is pivotally mounted at one end, as shown at 4, the other end of the pin being pointed and engageable with a keeper 5 projecting from the rear face of the rear member. Sleeves 5 extend transversely of ends of the front member and may be integral therewith or formed separate from the front member and brazed thereto. The two sleeves project forwardly and rearwardly from the front member and have their rear por-' tions formed with slots 1 having their forward side edges flush with the rear surface of the front member. Therefore, ends of the rear member may pass through the slots and into the sleeves. Discs 8 soldered to ends of the sleeves close ends of the slots. While the rear member is stiffer than the front member, it may be sprung sufficiently to permit its end portions to be engaged through the slots during assembling of the members. The sleeves constitute finger holds adapting the front member to be conveniently engaged between a thumb and finger, as shown in Fig. 4', and, referring to this figure, it will be seen that when pressure is applied to the sleeves, longitudinally of the brooch, the front member will be bowed forwardly away from the rear member and thus provide space between the members to receive a flower or flowers, and when pressure is removed from the sleeves the front member has a tendency to return to the normal position shown in Fig. 2, and the flower or flowers will be gripped between the members and firmly held. The brooch may have its front member provided with a plane front surface, or said surface may be ornamented or have a name engraved thereon. Therefore, the brooch will be attractive in appearance and may be worn as an ornamental brooch instead of as a flower holder.

In Figs. 6 and '7 there has been shown a modified construction. In this embodiment, the rear or inner member 9 carries studs l0 projecting forwardly through slots ll formed longitudinally of end portions of the outer or front member l2. The portions I3 of the front member in which the slots are formed, normally project from ends of the rear member at a forward incline and extremities of the front member are bent rearwardly at an incline to form tongues 14 adapted to be engaged between a thumb and a finger when applying pressure to spring the front member forwardly to the bowed shape indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7. The tongues will limit bowing of the front member by engaging ends of the rear member. A pin l5 for mounting the brooch extends longitudinally of the rear member with one end pivotally mounted, as shown at [6, and a keeper I! is provided for engagement by the pointed end of the pin.

In each embodiment of the invention, the flower carrying brooch consists of a relatively stiff rear member carrying a mounting pin, and a. resilient front member normally disposed in flat parallel relation to the rear member and having its end portions projecting beyond ends of the rear member and slidably engaged therewith so that, by applying pressure to ends of the front member, it may be bowed forwardly for the insertion of flowers between the members, which members will grip the flowers when pressure upon the ends of the front member is released and the front member attempts to return to its normal position closed against the front face of the rear member.

The rear member may be provided upon its front face with teeth, as shown at la in Figs. 2

and 4, to obtain firmer grip upon flowers, or the confronting faces of both strips may be smooth, as shown in Fig. 7.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A flower holder comprising inner and outer elongated members normally disposed flat against each other, the inner member being stiff and the outer member being resilient and of greater length than the inner member and having its ends slidably connected with and normally projecting from ends of the inner member whereby the outer member may have pressure applied to its protruding ends to bow the outer member outwardly from the inner member for insertion of flowers between said members, the outer member springing back toward its initial position for gripping the flowers thereby when pressure upon the ends of the outer member is removed.

2. A flower holder comprising a stiff inner member, an outer member formed of resilient material of greater length than the inner member, said outer member being normally disposed in parallel contacting engagement with the inner member, members slidably connecting said members and constituting means for guiding and limiting sliding of the outer member relative to the inner member, the last mentioned members projecting from ends of the inner member and constituting finger-engaging members adapting the outer member to have pressure applied at its ends to bow the outer member away from the inner member and permit flowers to be inserted between the members and gripped when pressure on the ends of the outer member is removed and the outer member springs back toward its initial position.

3. A flower holder comprising a still inner member, an outer member formed of resilient material and having loose slidable engagement with the inner member at points spaced from each other longitudinally of the inner member with its ends projecting from ends of the inner member whereby the outer member may be bowed forwardly by pressure applied at its protruding ends and permit insertion of flowers between confronting faces of said members, and a pin carried by the inner member.

4. A flower holder comprising a stifi inner member, an outer member formed of resilient material and having transversely extending sleeves at its ends projecting rearwardly therefrom and formed with slots slidably receiving end portions of the inner member whereby the outer member may be bowed outwardly relative to the inner member by pressure applied to the sleeves for insertion of flowers between confronting faces of said members.

5. A flower holder comprising a stiff inner member, an outer member formed of resilient material and having end portions projecting from ends of the inner member and formed with longitudinally extending slots, and studs carried by the inner member and passing through the slots and mounting the outer member for limited sliding movement whereby the outer member may be bowed outwardly by pressure applied to its ends for insertion of flowers between said members.

6. A flower holder comprising a stiff inner member, an outer member formed of resilient material and having end portions projecting from ends of the inner member and formed with longitudinally extending slots, and studs carried by the inner member and passing through the slots and mounting the outer member for sliding movement whereby the outer member may be bowed outwardly by pressure applied to its ends for insertion of flowers between said members, extremities of the outer member being bent to form rearwardly extending finger engaging members adapted to engage ends of the inner member and limit movement of the outer memher when subjected to pressure at its ends.

7. A flower holder comprising a rear strip of stiff material having flat and unobstructed end portions, a front strip of resilient material normally in contacting engagement with the front face of the rear strip, sleeves extending transversely across ends of the front strip with portions projecting rearwardly therefrom and formed with slots slidably receiving end portions of the rear strip with ends of the rear strip spaced from walls of the sleeves whereby the sleeves may be grasped and shifted along the rear strip to bow the resilient front strip away a from the still rear strip to permit disposition of flower stems between the strips and gripping thereof when the sleeves are released and the resilient front strip returns to a normal position.

8. A flower holder comprising a strip of stiff material, a strip of resilient material, sleeves at ends of the resilient strip projecting across ends of the resilient strip and formed with slots slidably receiving end portions of the stiff strip, said sleeves holding the resilient strip in operative relation to the stiff strip and constituting finger holds adapted to be grasped and shifted toward each other along the stiff strip to bow the resilient strip away from the stiff strip and permit the stems of flowers to be disposed between the strips and gripped thereby when pressure upon the sleeves is removed.

CONRAD E. SCHWARZKOPF. 

